Aravinda

towards peace, justice and community

Monthly Archives: August 2008

Maybe I am slow on the uptake but this is really shocking. In 19645 we have M Desai telling villagers of Punjab that if they dont’ move out now then when the dam waters rise they will “run like rats” and now in 2008 we have Vijay Prakash, a Bihar welfare official recommending

Yesterday some folks I had not seen in many years suddenly visited. They wanted to hear more about AID. I showed them a calendar. They wanted 4 (and made donations!). They started asking, “can AID come to my village? We will raise funds!”

I asked them to find out if everyone in the village had access to anganwadi, rations, electricity, NREGA job cards, old age pensions. I also told them while gathering that information they should listen for what issues the villagers raised.

I am not sure how apt this answer was – but if they really come back with all this info, I guess we could invest more time with them in that village to address the problems. Also it helps them focus on the needs of the poorest.